It's time to re-learn an old and faded art: NSA edition

With all of the stories swirling about with the NSA listening in on Americans without warrants, getting phone records, possibly even continuing Total Information Awareness (TIA) and other such programs, I think it's time those with sensitive information to communicate, or those who just don't want Dick Cheney reading their mash notes, to re-learn an almost-lost art that exploits the weakness of these programs.

The weakness? Volume combined with administrative costs.

Then answer? Check it out below the fold...

All of these NSA programs share one thing in common: electronics. The wonder of phone and email is that allows us to quickly and easily communicate with people far away or close by without any significant barriers. For the spy agencies, the wonder of phone and email is that they're able to use the power of massive computers to help them quickly sort through and analyize huge amounts of data from lots of people.

What we need to do is to re-discover the wonder and joy of letter writing. Oh, sure. Mail intercepts can be done, but they are so easy to get around for anything less than concerted, focus investigations. What the NSA is doing involves wide, indiscrimite sweeps looking for information. You can't do that with physical, paper letters.  

What would happen if we all began to write letters again? First off, the post office would have massive orgasms, but secondly, the keyhole peekers would severly lack the manpower and resources to keep up with this "new" form of communication. It takes people to open, scan, and re-seal letters. It takes people to correct ocr on hand-written text because even the best optical character recognition software out there can still have trouble with many people's handwriting. This is a weakness.

Now, I'm not suggesting that the bad guys are going to take up this tactic anytime soon, nor should they. Keep on using human drops, coded messages, etc. But you don't think they're using open conversations on phone and email anymore do you? I'm sure they haven't for a while now.

What I'm suggesting is that we slow down a bit. Get some good stationary, a nice pen with some cool ink, and (re)discover the sensous experience of puting words on fine paper. It's a joy to see the lines of ink flow out on the clean field of laid, linen paper. It's a wonderful feeling of creation to see your finished product folded neatly and slipped with a whisper into the envelope and addressed, stamped and mailed. (SWAK, if you like)

The joy is not just on your end. It is a joy to receive an actual, hand-written letter. It is a joy too seldom experienced anymore.

Letter writing is slower, and requires some skills that may need some practice for many of us. Don't worry so much about penmenship, instead focus on composition, feeling and clarity in your writing. Enjoy yourself, slow down, get yourself a nice cup of coffee and relax with your letter. If you get into it, you can even splurge on a nice portfolio to hold your stationary. This is a treat for you and your correspondant.

After all, you're writing to communicate and you're writing to stick a thumb in the eye of the window peekers. Let's make it fun for us at the same time.

Plane Crazy, lover of old fountain pens, fine paper, and the time to put one to the other.